Espionage into my kitchen

Tag Archives: Cheese

I’ve mentioned in the past that I absolutely love breakfast foods. Waffles, pancakes, French toast, eggs, hash- you name it, I love it!

I particularly enjoy eggs, cooked in any style. I love making omelettes and stuffing them with a variety of fillings. I stumbled upon this recipe several years ago for a Tex-Mex inspired omelette, and have been making then on and off since then. I recently made this when a Texan born-and-bred friend came to visit, because if there’s one thing that all Texans and Californians have in common, it is our shared love of Mexican inspired food 😉

In a small bowl, whisk eggs, water (if using), and salt until frothy. Set aside.

Melt butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium low heat. Pour eggs into pan and sprinkle cheese (save a little bit to use as a topping) over the top. Spoon the refried beans over half of the omelette. Cover with a lid and cook undisturbed until the eggs have set, about 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle on remaining cheese and black pepper, and serve with desired toppings.

Have you tried pizza without marinara sauce? This was my first foray into making pizza without a traditional red sauce, and MY GOD! WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG?!

Literally, so so good!

I happened upon this recipe after my son asked that I make pizza for dinner (I had already set a packet of frozen chicken out to thaw). It worked out perfectly, because it also gave me a chance to use up a few vegetables that were past their prime. Win-win 😉

Combine ¼ cup water and yeast in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. Add remaining water and oil, and stir to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine bread flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add yeast mixture. Once all of the dough has come together, increase speed to medium and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and set aside until doubled, about 2 hours.

Make Pizza:

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown, while stirring often, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

I come bearing exciting news! Ramadan is right around the corner (less than 2 weeks remaining! Eeeks!), and Asiya of Chocolate and Chillies, Sarah of Flour and Spice, and I are hosting Eid Eats (2016) again! What is Eid Eats, you ask. Consider it a virtual potluck in which you “bring” (ie., blog about) a food item which is reminiscent of Eid (the holiday marking the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan). What you decide to share can be something traditional that’s made in your home/family, or you can get creative and share something completely out of the ordinary. The choice is yours, as long as it screams Eid festivities to you 🙂

Here are a few guidelines in order to participate:

Prepare and blog about your food item on July 3rd, 2016. You can prepare your blog post beforehand, just be sure to have it go live on the above-mentioned date. The link party will be open and accepting submissions until July 6th, 2016.

Be sure to use the hashtag #EidEats2016 in your post and on any social media.

New recipes and posts will only be accepted. Unfortunately we cannot accept links to past blog posts.

Visit the aforementioned blogs on July 3rd and be sure to submit your post via the link party (will be set up that day).

Check out what our fellow bloggers have submitted, and be sure to head on over to their space and leave them some love in their comments section!

To get this party started, I made a batch of zesty and delicious Chicken Quesadillas whose recipe Asiya had shared. To say these are yummy is an understatement. These are freaking fantastic! They’re zippy and packed with flavor! Serve them with salsa, guacamole, or sour cream (or all three!), and you’re on your way to Flavor City 🙂

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until no longer raw, keeping in mind that this can take several minutes. Transfer chicken (along with any juices that may have accumulated) to a plate and shred. In the same skillet, add onion and cook until softened, just a few minutes. Add onion and tomato to shredded chicken, mix well, and set aside.

Heat a lightly greased nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Lay tortillas flat and place approximately ¼ to 1/3-cup on one half. Top with cheese and fold. Transfer to heated skillet, cover, and cook until the cheese has melted, just a few minutes. Flip the quesadilla and cook until lightly browned. Remove from skillet and serve immediately.

Friendy McFriends! So sorry for being out of the loop for so long! Everything has been running smoothly, I’ve just been wrapped up in a few commitments. I know, that’s no excuse, and I’m sorry for totally disappearing. I’m feeling a surge of motivation, and I’ve got a slew of fun things to share with you 🙂

About today’s recipe- I saw Asiya post this fabulous Cheesy Jalapeno Bread recipe some time back and haven’t been able to get it out of my head! I’m a total carby, and can survive on just cheese and bread (although that probably wouldn’t help in my odds of “surviving” for very long LOL). The dough can be thrown together in no time, and is delicious on its own, but even better when it’s sliced, toasted, and slathered with cream cheese 🙂

Jalapeno and Cheese Artisan Bread

(Overnight)

Yield: 1 Loaf

Ingredients:

For Bread:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon yeast

1 teaspoon salt

4 ounces cheese (Monterey jack, Cheddar, or Colby), diced small

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced small

1 ½ cups water, lukewarm

For Topping:

1 ounce cheese, shredded (¼ cup)

½ jalapeno, seeded and sliced thin

Directions:

The night prior to baking the bread, in a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, yeast, and salt. Add cheese and jalapeno and stir to coat. Add water and stir until evenly combined (dough will be very wet and sticky), cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise overnight, 12 to 18 hours. Do not refrigerate.

The following morning, preheat oven to 450°F. Place a dutch oven or oven-safe casserole dish, with the lid on, into the oven for 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, shape into a ball, and transfer to a piece of parchment paper. Once the dish has been heated, pick up the dough using the parchment paper and place it directly into the baking dish (with the paper). Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and sprinkle the cheese and jalapeno (that were set aside for topping) over the top of the loaf. Return to oven, uncovered, and bake until golden brown and the cheese has melted, 10 to 15 minutes.

There was a lonely zucchini hanging out in the refrigerator, totally on the verge of going from edible to non-edible. I hate throwing food out, so I set out to find a recipe that would please all of us. I stumbled upon this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, which I have been eyeing for what seems like ages, and set out to work. I made my own ricotta (hopefully I’ll be able to do a post on that soon. It is so easy to make!), prepped the dough and filling, and ended up with a galette worthy of being the centerpiece of any meal.

It looks like I’m going to have to buy more zucchini, because we cannot seem to get enough of this 🙂

Ricotta and Zucchini Galette

Yield: 4 – 6 Servings

Ingredients:

For Crust:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

¼ cup sour cream

¼ cup cold water

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

For Filling:

1 large zucchini, sliced thinly

½ teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

½ cup fresh ricotta cheese

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

For Glaze and Topping:

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water (egg-wash)

1 tablespoons slivered basil

Directions:

Make Crust:

In the bowl of a food processor, combine all-purpose flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add the butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles course crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds.

In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, water, and lemon juice. With the machine running, add the mixture through the feed tube in a slow and steady stream, just until the mixture holds together. Remove dough from food processor and pat into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Note: If dough has gotten too soft from the food processor, simply wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night. It will harden and become easier to roll the following day.)

Make Filling:

Toss zucchini with salt and spread out on paper towels. Allow it to drain for 30 minutes, then wipe the tops dry with a paper towel before using.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil and garlic.

In a separate bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses. Add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil mixture to the cheese mixture and mix well.

Prepare Galette:

Preheat oven to 400˚F and set aside a parchment lined baking sheet.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll chilled dough out into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to baking sheet. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border along the edges. Place the zucchini over the top, and drizzle with olive oil mixture. Fold the edges over, pleating as needed. Brush the edges with prepared egg-wash.

Bake the galette until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with basil. Let it stand for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Galette can be served hot, warm, or at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers.